Earlier quoted context omitted.
After having dealt with billing from hospitals for services they never delivered or obscenely overpriced I am inclined not to trust them on statements about their actual cost. In my view the billing practices of most hospitals are very dishonest and intentionally confusing and opaque.
"billing practices of most hospitals are very dishonest and intentionally confusing and opaque." Is that even true? Personally I have my doubts.
The Economies With the Most and Least Efficient Health Care
51–60 of 68 posts
Re: The Economies With the Most and Least Efficient Health Care
#52life expectancy is a bad measure of healthcare effectiveness 1) infant mortality heavily impacts life expectancy. The us has a few subpopulations that have very high infant mortality regardless of socioeconomic status. 2) The us has a high teen murder rate 3) The US has very high levels of obesity 4) There is a tremendous genetic component to life expectancy. Some sub populations (asians) have very high life expectan…
Re: The Economies With the Most and Least Efficient Health Care
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
As much as dissapointment the Affordable Care Act was, at least someone tried something. If only we could learn from those mistakes and make incremental changes. Politicians are to obsessed with either tearing it all down or healthcare for all for "free", no middle ground
We have a single-payer system - Medicare. ACA is just a jobs program for the insurance industry, perpetuating 2 types of bullshit jobs: medical billing and medical underwriting.
Even medical billing is gradually going away with the shift to value-based care and accountable care organizations (ACOs).
Re: The Economies With the Most and Least Efficient Health Care
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
In the US, we make services used by the poor inconvenient and ineffective in order to (ahem) motivate people to not be poor. Lousy results are to be expected for that segment of the population.
Motivate? Most definitely yes. Equip? Not at all. The American Dream (especially that pesky part about "opportunity") died long ago. If you're born with a chronic condition such as diabetes or your parents can't afford an education giving you the chance of a decently paying job, better go die. That being said, just looking at the raw numbers I'd dare to say that health care in the US is just about as inconvenient and…
Re: The Economies With the Most and Least Efficient Health Care
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
So if you simply eliminate some of America's health care problems, America is like other nations? That's convenient.
The above commenter mentioned demographic and lifestyle discrepancies not adequately accounted for in this comparison of outcomes among countries... not health care problems, as you're implying.
We're talking about kids too young to be be gunned down, so they're not part of America's remarkable teen-gun-death statistics.
They're predominantly kids from poor families, who don't live healthy lifestyles or have good health insurance. If the family doesn't have access to good healthcare, the kid's chances of survival are lessened.
Maybe Russia could improve its placement on the list if they ignored the health care issues caused by alcoholism.
And then America could improve its position by declaring obesity, and the health problems that come with it, a lifestyle issue instead of a health issue.
Re: The Economies With the Most and Least Efficient Health Care
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
Motivate? Most definitely yes. Equip? Not at all. The American Dream (especially that pesky part about "opportunity") died long ago. If you're born with a chronic condition such as diabetes or your parents can't afford an education giving you the chance of a decently paying job, better go die. That being said, just looking at the raw numbers I'd dare to say that health care in the US is just about as inconvenient and…
Rektang was being facetious with that comment, as tipped off by the “(ahem)”, implying the real reason we make services for poor inaccessible so they won’t be able to use them and thus drive up costs for them.
Re: The Economies With the Most and Least Efficient Health Care
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
It still costs less than my European healthcare tax, and the standard is still higher. It's cheap only for people with the lowest income.
The US system is only "cheap" if you don't have any major medical issues. Once you get sick there is a good chance that copays, out of network bills and other charges will bankrupt you.
Re: The Economies With the Most and Least Efficient Health Care
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
The above commenter mentioned demographic and lifestyle discrepancies not adequately accounted for in this comparison of outcomes among countries... not health care problems, as you're implying.
An infant mortality rate far above other first world nations isn't a health care problem? We're talking about kids too young to be be gunned down, so they're not part of America's remarkable teen-gun-death statistics. They're predominantly kids from poor families, who don't live healthy lifestyles or have good health insurance. If the family doesn't have access to good healthcare, the kid's chances of survival are le…
Just as schools and teachers are simply one factor in educational outcomes, the medical system is simply one factor in health outcomes. You must consider lifestyle, environmental, and genetic/epigenetic factors to get a full picture. You must equalize for these factors - as far as this is possible - to fairly compare the effect of the medical system and associated policies alone on health outcomes in different countries. Properly accounting for genetic and lifestyle differences in different sub-populations is largely taboo, and this prevents a fair comparison of medical systems across countries.
Edit: Consider this article by the CDC on infant mortality: https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/MaternalInfantHealth/...
Over 23,000 infants died in the United States in 2016. The five leading causes of infant death in 2016 were: Birth defects. Preterm birth and low birth weight. Sudden infant death syndrome. Maternal pregnancy complications. Injuries (e.g., suffocation).
While the medical system can intervene, these causes all seem far more dependent on genetics, the mother's (and to a lesser extent the father's) behavior during pregnancy and the infancy of the child.
In 2016, infant mortality rates by race and ethnicity were as follows: Non-Hispanic black: 11.4; American Indian/Alaska Native: 9.4; Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander: 7.4; Hispanic: 5.0; Non-Hispanic white: 4.9; Asian: 3.6
Compare white Americans with European countries, and the discrepancy drops significantly. There's something beyond the medical / health care system playing a role here.
Re: The Economies With the Most and Least Efficient Health Care
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
The US system is only "cheap" if you don't have any major medical issues. Once you get sick there is a good chance that copays, out of network bills and other charges will bankrupt you.
From my own research, this is not true - the US system is a little bit cheaper for an average software engineer, with much higher quality. We have to co-pay things in Europe as well; only basic ("medically necessary") care is free and of course you have to wait, sometimes years, and I'm not even speaking about the quality. E.g. my braces were more expensive than in the USA, in absolute money, not relative! And don't…
My only experience in Europe is Germany and I much prefer that system over the US. I don't know how it is in other countries.
Re: The Economies With the Most and Least Efficient Health Care
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
From my own research, this is not true - the US system is a little bit cheaper for an average software engineer, with much higher quality. We have to co-pay things in Europe as well; only basic ("medically necessary") care is free and of course you have to wait, sometimes years, and I'm not even speaking about the quality. E.g. my braces were more expensive than in the USA, in absolute money, not relative! And don't…
Deal with health care in the US and you will quickly learn that "you know, that's just how it is" too. There is a huge wall of inscrutable bureaucracy that's pretty much impenetrable. My only experience in Europe is Germany and I much prefer that system over the US. I don't know how it is in other countries.